Dorothea Lang’s Photojournalist Profile1895-1965

• Photograph by: Katya Ozeryan• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126289455

Career Path

Lange began working right after high school for different photographers and in those also included, leading portrait photographer, Arnold Genthe. During the beginning of her career, Lange did not have any photography experience but did have documenting and writing experience. Once learning about photography this leaded Lange in becoming a photojournalism. Later on Lange began running a successful studio.

The Depression EraLange’s Era begin in the 1920’s in which she mostly focused in photographing Americans. She then began to adjust her camera to preparing to take pictures for the great depression which was nearby. While Lange was married to Maynard Dixon whom she had two children with, their marriage came to an end she met her new husband to be Paul Taylor. Over the years Lange and Taylor traveled together and worked as a team. While her husband Taylor wrote reports she photographed the people they met. During this work Lange’s popular portrait included “Migrant Mother” which was a powerful image of mothers going through a great economic depression with their children. Lange focused her career in migrants working in a farm during the great depression and interviewing individuals as well.

Motivation

Like many photojournalists, Lange was motivated by wanting to share her experience with the world and also be able to help other people and she was very sensitive and careful by the people she chose to photograph. In Lange's own words she describe her motivation; "I have always been motivated not by something inside me that needed to be expressed but rather by the wonder of something I see that I want to share with the rest of the world. I think of myself as a chronicler of my time and feel impelled to probe and probe into the depths of society in search of the essence of truth."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126289455

Technology

Garflex CameraLange used a Garflex camera with a 4x5 film size. She had a good handle on the camera and didn't seem to have any difficult in using it. She had a passion for it and was born to do photography as it was natural to her. Lange had many quotes and she included one that speaks about the camera it self. "One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind." http://www.electricedge.com/greymatter/archives/00006191.htm

"The stovepipe hood looks down on a reflex mirror that pops up when you take the picture. The shutter release is operated by the thumb on your left hand. One of the reasons I was attracted to this camera was the lens. It's a Carl Zeiss Jenna Tessar 150mm f4.5. My 4x5 Graflex has a Carl Zeiss Jenna Tessar 210mm f3.5. Similar lenses that should paint in a similar manner. These Graflexes were probably made in the 1930s."

EthicsWhen speaking about ethical dilemmas I can bring up several things that I've learned about Lange as I've become very familiar with her life and career. One of the dilemmas Lange ran into was being a wife, a mother of two and yet she was very independent and wanted to go out there with a camera and take photographs of people in the city. Going back to before Lange began to work in photography she always knew since she was a young girl that she wanted to someday become a photographer although she never once even held a camera. She simply developed a passion for it in her early years and went and followed her dream even after having a family. Her focus was the great depression and I couldn't have thought of anyone better to do this job during those difficult times. She had the heart of a gold and she respected everyone.

BiasWhen speaking about Lange's biases, I am going to say that she followed her instincts all the time. In her own words she said " I think, all my decisions right along, even working in the field when I was doing documentary work, have been instinctive; and I trust my instincts. I don't distrust them". When Lange traveled to California during the beginning of the great depression she knew that things would slowly begin to getting worst and she knew that she will be there documenting and taking photographs of people suffering during those difficult times but she knew that she would be able to do it without anyone thinking any less of her. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-dorothea-lange-11757

Photography Style

Before showing you some of the photography taken by Dorothea Lange, listen to this 7 minute story in which they speak about Lange's work and her most famous quotes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126289455

Photograph by Dorothea LangePhoto taken by: Dorothea Lange, during the depression, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126289455

Mother with her two childrenPrinciplesWhile looking at the above image i see a helpless mother with two children leaning against her shoulders which shows that they fully depend on her. Although i can't see the children's face, i can tell the children were weak, tired and possibly even hungry. This image reminds me of many other photographs I've come across during the great depression and also photographs during a time of war in the early 1920's. I can tell by the lighting and color of the photograph that this was taken in the 1920's century. The abstraction of this photograph also speaks for itself, these photograph definitely represents tough times.

Photograph by Dorothea LangePhoto taken by Dorothea Lange, http://historyinphotos.blogspot.com/2012/05/dorothea-lange.htmlBy Dorothea Lange

PrinciplesThis image capture my attention because I know that during the great depression those fortunate enough to have a job, were working at a farm. This women appears to be working hard at a farm in order to provide her family food and a home. This image is simple and I say this because it doesn't seem as Lange had to make too much effort to take this photo as by the look of it, it was day time, sunny and the image looks soft. The expression I get from this photo is a strong woman working hard in a farm and back then it didn't matter whether you were a men or women, you did what you had to do to provide a living.

Photograph by Dorothea LangePhotograph taken by Dorothea Lange, https://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/childlit/1930s/lange_child_migr.htmlBy Dorothea Lange

PrinciplesThe expression i get on this photo is looking at four kids shoeless sitting in dirt. Behind them is a home that looks close to been demolished, who is to say that's not their home. In looking at their body language it seems as they ran out of options to do anything as there isn't really anything for them to do there as by the look of it, clearly they were poor and they'll be lucky to have two meals a day. This image was also focus on the kids while we were able to gain a more feeling of how they really live by looking at the background of the photograph.

Photograph by Dorothea LangePhotograph taken by Dorothea Lange, http://www.kuriositas.com/2011/11/depression-era-photography-of-dorothea.htmlBy Dorothea Lange

PrinciplesThe focus on this photograph was in the two children and mom. My expression on this photograph is watching a poor family standing from what it seems in front of their home. I see clothes hanging in the background and the mom looks like she's in a lot of stress and tension by her body language. She has one of her arms holding on to part of her shoulder and neck and that shows the amount of stress she is under.

Impact

All of the images by Dorothea Lange affected society by never forgetting that at one point in life there was an era in which there was really a great depression. While there are many images to proof of this and especially by looking at Lange's work there are still living people that can tell you all about that. I feel that America has ran into those moment of fears of America going through a depression when the economy and market has been close to crashing.

My major at AIC is PsychologyMany of the photojournalist career relates somewhat to my major. This is because, you're able to relate to people's pain and way of living and by been sympathetic and caring shows the psychological part of it. I want to become a psychologist because I care about people and want to help them overcome personal experiences that still to this day keeps them from moving on.

ViewpointsPeople had a hard time understanding why Dorothea Lange focus her photojournalism career in the great depression. They couldn't understand how she could do it. Prior to Lange taking photographs of people that by the look of them they were clearly suffering, she would ask if it was okay for her to take a photo of them. Some people would feel the need to pose and many just stood still as if she wasn't eve there and you can witness that by looking at many of her photographs. There is an interview by Richard D. Doud interviewing Dorothea Lange which he asked her several questions over and over as he was still trying to understand where Lange was coming from and how did she make it so far with so little or no experience at all. The interview took place on May 22, 1964 in New York City. This was roughly a year before she passed away. This was a great interview and Lange touched many points explaining why she was who she was. I will discuss more about her in the next slide. In the next few slides you will learn about different point of views.

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-dorothea-lange-11757

Several different viewpoints

Richard Doud was one of the people that didn’t understand how Dorothea went from taking portraits to then taking photographs of people. He hard a hard time understanding the sudden change. Dorothea felt that she had many talents and that she will put each one of them to use at the time she felt it will be useful. During an interview Lang said “I feel myself more like a cipher, a person that can be used for lots of things and I like that. But I don't feel that I personally stand for anything so great, you know”

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-dorothea-lange-11757

More viewpoints

Many have said that for those that couldn’t understand what took place during the depression, simply look at Lange’s photographs and you will get a great image and idea of how bad it was during those difficult times. Lange's most famous photograph is referred to as "Migrant Mother“ said Linda Gordon.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126289455

In this photograph you will see a migrant mother. One of the most popular photos of Dorothea Lange. http://www.art.com/products/p15241907-sa-i3619146/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother-florence-thompson-and-children-photographed-by-dorothea-lange.htm

My ThesisDorothea had a very interesting life and she chose to focus her photography in the depression because she knew she could do it and that’s where her heart was. She could have chosen to stay in her studio taking portraits but she really wanted to be out there with the people. Lang was married and had two kids but that didn’t keep her from pursuing what really did it for her which was covering stories and taking photographs of people working hard or those that were just helpless. In looking at many of Lange’s photos it was clear to see that she had a heart of gold. You can tell that she wasn’t hiding behind a camera taking candid shots of people, she was right in front of them and people seemed to fine with it. She would ask before if it was okay to take a picture before taking the photograph and she would introduce herself as well. It seems to me that she valued people, respected people and was able to make them feel comfortable around her and get to know them in a more personal level. Lange learned a lot from working with several photographers and she always knew what she wanted to do since she was a young little girl. Nothing got in her way, and because of her passion towards her career she was able to make a difference in the photojournalism world. Lange died of Cancer on 10/11/1965.